On 6 Aug 2003 08:53:13 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

My house was done that way rather than by having an NHBC guarantee.
It is backed up the surveyors insurance. My solicitor said it was
generally regarded as much better than the NHBC guarantee because
the time limit is much longer, and because any solicitor who's had
any dealings with an NHBC guarantee will tell you just how worthless
that is.

Eh?!! How can the NHBC guarantee be worthless! This new house buying
lark has got me really worried now. I'm beginning to think it's best
if I stay put...

I wanted to consider a brand new property so as to avoid any chain
hassles. But surely we should be able to trust any accredited building
firm, like any of the big-name firms, to erect a property that
reflects quality of work, and is value for money. It should NOT be up
to the owner, as depicted in last night's programme, to have to
consider putting the brand new property to auction (realising a 50 per
cent drop in value) in order to get shot of it. The house they showed
had daylight showing through the roof, for Gawd's sake! The bannisters
on the landing were flimsy and probably dangerous. There were major
problems with flooding, and so on. We're not talking here about a
cracked tile in the bathroom or a sticking front door.

Perhaps a smaller, local builder would be a better choice than going
to the mainstream builders?

MM